The lakes are full, the rivers are flowing and gardens are soaking up the rain. The wet conditions of this year make it difficult to remember the drought that affected the Arkansas River Valley last year.

“March, April, May and even June of last year were the driest on record,” said Charles Dalton of the Little Rock National Weather Service. “This year is vastly different.”

Russellville is 1.09 inches above normal just for the month of June and 3.47 inches above normal for the year. Since January 1, Russellville has received 25.52 inches of rain.

But even though the state has had its fair share of rain in 2013, summer rolls into the Arkansas River Valley this week with temperatures racing into the low to mid-90s and the heat index will go well over 100 degrees later this week.

It is the time of year to think about staying cool.

Dalton said it looks like the pattern for the summer will be around normal, or maybe slightly cooler, temperatures and around normal, or maybe slightly higher, rain fall amounts.

“It’s a little harder to tell weather patterns in the summer. In the winter, there are more definite patterns to look for,” Dalton said.

He also said that the chances for summer thunderstorms were pretty good.

“We’ve been seeing more rain and will probably continue to see more rain,” Dalton said.

Temperatures are rising this week with forecasts in the 90s, but Dalton said that will probably change next week.

“This week, we will be in the summer pattern with temperatures rising. Next week will probably be cooler and rainier,” Dalton said.